A/HRC/21/62 and protection of children’s rights. The Independent Expert notes that, while these proposals are encouraging, they need to be carefully assessed to be considered for funding by international partners and donor agencies. The short time frame for submitting the present report did not permit any detailed analysis of the proposals. Nevertheless, the Independent Expert is prepared to coordinate and follow up with different stakeholders for their consideration and, ultimately, for effective implementation. 24. In spite of the positive steps taken by the Government to address human rights concerns in the country, many Government representatives acknowledged that important human rights challenges still confronted the State, and that the Sudan needed international assistance and support to address them. Many of the representatives expressed, however, their concern about the negative perception within the international community of the efforts made by the Government to fulfil its human rights obligations. The Independent Expert observed that this had created a degree of mistrust on the part of the Government in its relations with the international community. There is therefore a need for confidencebuilding to facilitate the constructive engagement necessary for addressing legitimate human rights concerns in the Sudan. 25. Some Government representatives also made reference to Islamic law and culture as important elements of Sudanese society that should be appreciated by the international community and factored into human rights dynamics in the Sudan. Subtle reference was made to a perception of “Islamic human rights”, as opposed to international human rights. This raises the important need to raise awareness, particularly in Government institutions, that Islamic law and international human rights law are not inherently opposed to one another, but can be mutually compatible, depending on the interpretations and approaches adopted. As an expert in human rights and Islamic law, the Independent Expert is prepared to offer technical advice to the Government on how to positively fulfil its human rights obligations within an Islamic legal and cultural environment. B. Meetings with the diplomatic community and other international partners 26. The Independent Expert also met with members of the diplomatic community and relevant international partners in the Sudan, including representatives of the European Union, the Chargé d’affaires of the United States of America, the ambassadors of Qatar, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Head of the African Union Office in Khartoum, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. There was some appreciation that the Government of the Sudan had begun taking some necessary steps towards fulfilling its international human rights obligations. 27. Many of the international partners believe that the national human rights institution, if operated independently (as it should) and if properly empowered with the necessary human and financial resources, could play an important role in human rights monitoring and ensuring improvement in the human rights situation in general. While some international partners indicated their willingness to support the work of the National Commission for Human Rights, in particular in the areas of capacity-building and training, they also expressed the need for the Government to take the lead by positively demonstrating its commitment and providing the Commission with sustained appropriate operational and financial support. 7